Micah 6:6-8 The people of Micah’s time had lost contact with God. In fact, reading the Book of Micah is a lot like reading the morning paper. The Jewish nation of Israel was characterized by:
The culture in Micah’s time was not a lot different than living in our culture today. What advice did God give to Micah to pass on to the people? In view of the fact that conditions today are much the same; when we see what God had to say about the deplorable condition man had gotten himself in then, it may help us today. Micah 6:8 – He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Let’s look at some of the things God does not require and some thing He does not expect of us. FIRST... GOD DOES NOT EXCEPT US TO EARN HEAVEN BY OUR OWN GOODNESS. Micah asked ...Can I purchase God’s favor with sacrifices of young calves or with rivers of oil ? Can I buy God’s friendship?
There is nothing we can do to place God in our debt. The forgiveness of sins is beyond is beyond our earning power. Paul wrote in I Corinthains 13:1-4 – Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up There is only one thing that can forgive sins. That is the Blood of Jesus. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Ephesians 2:8. We have been bought with a price. You see, if man could have been saved by his own goodness, then some great men of the Bible would have been saved without Jesus. But they weren’t. Paul said in Ephesians 3, “I lived blameless, concerning the Law, I have lived with a clean conscience.” Was Paul saved without Jesus? NO! He was still in his sins when Ananias told him “to arise and be baptized” and his were washed away. Acts 9:18. If good men could have been saved without Christ, then Cornelius would have been a perfect candidate. Acts 10 says, “he was a religious man; he was kind and generous to the poor; a just and moral man. But he was lost. The Lord directed Peter to his house for one reason, to tell him about salvation made possible through Jesus and the cross. When Cornelius and those of his house heard what Peter had to say, they were baptized. The Gentiles were added to the Church. We can’t purchase forgiveness and salvation by our own goodness. When we get to judgement, its not going to be a balancing act between our good deeds and our bad deeds, that is, our sins. The questions is, Have we confessed the name of Jesus and been baptized into Christ, having our sins washed away. READ ROMANS 6:1-7. SECOND: GOD DOES NOT EXPECT US TO LIVE IN SINLESS PERFECTION. Aren’t we glad that our salvation is not dependant upon living a perfect life? If it were, we would all be lost, because all of us here today have failed. Paul said in Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; He also said, “there is none righteous, no not one.” Verse 10. John put it this way in I John 1:8 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. He said we are fooling ourselves and lying to ourselves. Paul admitted to his struggles with sin when he said in Romans 7, “Those things that I should do, I do not; And those things I should not do, I do; he said in Verse 24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” It is a fact that can be backed up by the Scriptures that we are delivered from sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Ephesians 1:7 – In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Romans 6:1-4 which we read a little earlier. John 8:36 – If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. We cannot argue with the Word of God. Or we cannot try to rewrite the Word of God. But we must accept it as it is and for what it is. Galatians 3:26-27 – For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Romans 8:1 tells us that, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” I John 1:7-9 says – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God does not demand we live a perfect sinless lives. Only that we become obedient servants. Only that we desire and strive to conform . Not to the image of the world. Not to the image of our society. But to the image of Jesus, God’s Son. THIRD: GOD DOES NOT EXPECT US TO USE ABILITIES THAT WE DO NOT HAVE. Many people. Some who were members of this congregation: HAVE QUIT THE CHURCH; DROPPED OUT; SLIPPED BACK INTO THE WORLD. Simply because they felt guilty, are were made to feel guilty for not doing something. Something that they did not have the ability to do in the first place. Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12 tell that we all have Different talents and Different abilities. And that pleasing God is wrapped up in using the gifts that He has given us. Paul said; if you have a talent for teaching, use it. If you have the ability to lead, lead; If you have a good personality use it to spread cheer and good will. If you have been blessed abundantly, give as you have been blessed. There are many things that need to be done in the Church. There is something for each of us to do if we will just do what we are equipped to do. God has never and never will ask us to do anything that He has not equipped us to do. We will never enjoy the good life that God intended us to have, until we serve the purpose for which God made us and equipped us for. The question for us is. Are we doing what God has equipped us to do and prepared us to do? Micah said in our text: God expects us to do right; To act justly; He expects to be fair; To be moral, honest, upright in our dealings with one another. As God’s people we must refrain from: Cheating in business; Cheating in our marriages, Cheating at school; Cheating in sports; Cheating in our religious responsibilities and Cheating in giving to God. God through Micah challenged Israel and He is challenging us to NO to this kind of behavior. Lets see what some New Testament Scriptures say about this . I Peter 2:13-17 – Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14. Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16. As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Ephesians 6:1 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Titus 2:11-12 – For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; I Peter 2:9 – But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: God was not pleased with Israel’s immorality. And He is not pleased with our immorality. He expects us to be distinctively different people. He expects us to live morally clean lives. SECONDLY: HE EXPECTS US TO BE COMPASSIONATE. Micah says God wants us to love kindness. God wants us to be Gentle; Kind; Loving; Caring people. Not ugly; Harsh; Hateful; Meanspirited folks. Jesus is our example: What do the Scriptures say He went about doing? He went about doing good. One of the identifying marks of Jesus’ life and His preaching was COMPASSION. The good Samaritan. Luke 10 The Rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16 The forgiving father in the story of the Prodigal son. Luke 15 The woman taken in adultery. John 8. He fed the poor; Healed the sick; He comforted the bereaved. In the Book of I Corinthians Paul tells us that as children of God we should be people who love our fellow man. In Matthew 25 Jesus paints a picture of the judgement, and He points out that our eternal reward has something to do with how we serve others; how we help our neighbor. Will we walk where Jesus walked when He said, I came not to be served, but to serve. God’s challenge to Israel becomes His challenge to us.To go about doing good.To be kind & compassionate. THIRDLY: GOD EXPECTS CONVERSION Our text says, “And to walk humbly with your God.” What does it meant to walk humbly with God? Of course it means that we must, in humility, submit our will to His will through His Word. Walking with God demands we be changed, be converted people. Walking with God means we must agree with God on what conversion really is. So what is conversion? 1. Conversion is having Faith in God. The writer of Hebrews tells us that, “ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 2. Conversion includes Repentance. Repentance is a change of heart that is so strong that it results in a changed way we live. Jesus said, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3. Peter said, “the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9. 3. Conversion demands Confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. ” Matthew 10:32.-33. 4. Conversion includes Baptism for the Remission of sins. Peter told the people on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2: 38 – Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter would later write in I Peter 3:21 – The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: FIFTHLY CONVERSION IS FAITHFULNESS. To the Church in Smyrna Jesus said, “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10. I Corinthians 15:58 says – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. The Lord has told us what is good and what He requires of us. To act justly.To love kindness. And to walk humbly with God. You see, Conversion is simply doing what God asked us to do without questioning His commandments. When we put Micah 6 and I Corinthians 13 together we find that God wants us to do these things for the right reason. Not just as a ritual, but with LOVE. Our motivation for doing what God expects of us is LOVE. Jesus said, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 No wonder Paul wrote, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13. The question we must ask ourselves as we close this lesson is: Do you and I love God enough to do what He asks of us? What does God expect of you and me this moment? To submit to His will and do what he requires of us. |
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